So here's the thing... ive got a job offer... a really good one... with a company that most of my family works for. I'd be workin from my home office a few days a week, but need to do a weekly 170 mile round trip to the corporate offices... and the occasional client meeting kinda thing... Im opposed to new cars, and usually have a beater/driver that i can just drive the wheels off of, and walk away from when it's done... along with some toys at home for going out, or the sunday drive, or whatever... Cant use a beater for this job. Car has got to be nice. I was thinking of getting a 60's somethingoranother in nice shape, going through it, painting it, etc. to make a nice driver out of... BUT, it occurred to me that my '55 belvedere is just sitting here, begging to be driven. I figure rather than buy yet ANOTHER car that'll obviously take my time away from other schtuff im not finishing, why not use the belvedere? Here's how it sits so far: Fresh 383 (mild cam, mild porting, 9:1 c.r.) Fresh 727 and 8 3/4 rear... Volare front clip... New interior and chrome... New wiring, and everything for the car is there. All in good to great shape... Straight body: and i can strip it and paint it in a weekend... For those of you that have seen the car- yeah, it desperately needs a wheel/tire change... ok, that's easy. Needs side glass, too (missing) and weather-stripping. Till now, the only concerns were it looking right, and going fast... im not looking for it to be practical like a new car just reliable and safe and still look good and quick Ok, you listened to my babbling this long, now to the questions: Mileage obviously isnt my main concern (if it was, i'd buy something "practical")... but any ideas im missing about getting setting up the 383/727 to be driven? Does this just sound like a good idea to me cause i dont want to buy yet another car??? Wheel bearings, entire brake system, fuel lines, steering and suspension components, wiring... all new. Ive done everything on this car... know it inside and out... can do anything to it, while blindfolded with a rabid monkey attacking me... BUT that's exactly why i feel like im missing something. You know when you've been looking at something so long, the obvious slips by? Anything you can think of that i might be missing? Im appraising and insuring it, so not TOO worried about accidents or theft
I know nothing about Mopars, but I've often thought that if I lived in a Southern state I'd build an early-sixties full-size Chevrolet or Ford into a daily driver and always felt the key to that was keeping things more or less stock. Solid lifters, hot cams, lowered suspensions look cool and improve performance but they degrade commutability and reliability. The Chevy parable here would be to use the 325 horse 396 instead of the 375 horse. A standard rebuild TH-400 instead of a four-speed or a built auto. The factories built them to be driven on a daily basis, and that's what you want to do, so copy their original efforts. Stock rodding?
have fun in LA traffic in an old car, I have personal experience in that department, and I'll NEVER do it again, did it in my 29 roadster, then my 55 Plymouth, then the 59 Biscayne, now I do it in my 99 Silverado, much better way to travel in traffic, ask Shortbus, he drives his 60 Olds eveywhere he goes, I'm sure he'll have some advice for ya. If you're dead set on the 55, it sounds like you got all the mechanicals taken care of, is your radiator in good shape? if so, paint the thing, have the interior done and drive it like you stole it Skip
You want a comfortable road car? I bought this one for the wife, 93 Eldo TC, she says it's too big. It's got some miles on it but it runs like a raped ape. New tires, completely refinished leather interior. Needs a little TLC but IMHO it would be alot better investment than trying to resurrect a beater. I have $4,500 in it and have ALOT of spare parts if you need them...
I run an oldie in fair weather but a beater in foul weather. Road rash and the elements take it's toll on old cars, and I hate to see a nice car demolished. If I lived anywhere where the traffic was horrendous and there were illegal aliens with driver's licenses I'd have a throwaway car like one of those Chinese jobs, a Kia or a Hyundai. If I lived in the southwest a Model A wouldn't sound half bad.
Just start driving it. If something is gonna break it's gonna break be it a late model Nissan or the 55 Plymouth. Make the treck with ita few times and whatever you may have overlooked will get your attention sooner or later. Go for it. Billy
Not really too concerned with LA traffic... drive in it all the time, anyway... for the past 1 1/2 years in a BEATER 200k+ mile '78 dodge full-size, before that in a vastly overpriced 98 M3 yeah, way to move on up in life but i bought a house (in LA, none the less), generally dont work for at least 2 months a year cant afford the new-car-payments. New car, old car traffic is all the same to me Not worried about wear and tear on the car (only takes a weekend to re-spray it, anyway, and have a reasonably well equipped shop at my house). The interior is already brand new... and i know if im not driving it, its probably just gonna sit in my barn, like it does 99% of the time now. Just sent my radiator ('65 Imperial radiator think its enough ) and stock gas tank to the rad shop, too... "Drive it like you stole it"... yup, words to live by. Planning on painting it in a couple weeks, and then drive it... hell with it, cars are meant to be driven, anyway may as well enjoy it. Im pretty determined to use it The motor is probably mild enough to go anywhere (gobs of low-end torque, too) It runs on 89 octane if i back off the timing But i feel like im missing something... Been working tons of hours, and brain isnt working well... Any tips to setting up the 383 for drivability? Thinking of tossing the old carb in favor of a newer AFB... and maybe replace the dual-point mallory with a mopar electronic... CharlieLed- i had a '94 eldo for about 6 months (till it got stolen and stripped)... thing hauled ass... tell the wife that it's safer than a Honda, and get her to keep it... The plymouth wont take much cash at all to finish, either
Dan, I was sitting here thinking about what you might have missed, and started thinking more about driver comfort/safety on that long trip rather than dependability... Things like: How well does the heater work? How are the windshield wipers? Shit like that. Then I remembered where you live. Ha! Never gets cold and damn sure never rains, eh? Outside of that, the only thing I can think of is to have afew extra parts in the trunk. A fuel pump is really easy to replace on the side of the highway midway between LA and San Diego... IF YOU HAVE ONE TO REPLACE THE ONE THAT JUST DIED. You know what I'm saying, and extra set of belts, fuel pump, etc. Mostly stuff that you probably have an extra one of sitting in the garage that you took off when you went through one of your last 20 cars... All I'm saying is keep it in the Plymouth instead of the garage. That, a AAA card and a tool box should get you there and back without trouble. Might want to think about a 2bbl carb to save on some gas. Remember what we're paying for that stuff here in Cali. Either that, or make a promise to yourself to not get into the throttle too much... Yeah right. You better go with the 2bbl. Keep in mind you got no overdrive with that 727... Do 70-80 miles an hour all the way to San Diego and you'll know you used some gas... What was the rear end in that thing again??? And it's ratio?
First thing I'd do is put some really steep gears in the rear. My old truck had like .68 overdrive and I REALLY miss it. Luckily the car has enough low-end power that it's not really screaming at 75mph, but gas mileage aside, a revved-up motor is a wear on your sanity for extended periods of time. I drive one of the company trucks, some rusty old POS Ford 1-ton, like 30 miles each way for work. It shifts into 3rd at like 30mph and the top speed is 65 at WOT. It SUCKS. Even worse with the windows down.
David, heater? what's that? The car is actually quite comfortable and somewhat quiet inside (was quieter when it had side windows... still dont know where i put them). With "normal" shocks on it, it rides and handles really nice now. Plus i raised it up another inch or so... yeah, got lots of parts from my last 20 cars... mostly cause the cars never go back together... just sit in various states of assembly till they get sold so i can buy something else to start and never finish. 2bbl... BAH! that's no fun. Probably a good idea... but no fun. i can always pop the secondary linkage off, too... or just go broke on gas prices, and have fun... the rear is a 8 3/4, from a '70 challenger (same car as the engine and trans), with 3.23:1 (i think). why couldnt chrysler have an OD for the big block???? Wonder if i can squeeze 15mpg out of it? had a 454/t400 in a crew cab dually that got 18 on the highway...
Bro' I've driven pretty much nothing but jalopies on a daily basis for the last twenty two years. Granted I've got a choice between three or four vehicles right now. One or two are always in need of something. Our traffic's almost as bad as SoCal, in fact it took me 45 minutes to get home from work in my '34 and it's only 15 miles away. The car started tipping towards 210 degrees in traffic crawl but never boiled over. Hey it's hot down here. I don't know anything about Mopars but your car's certainly more 'modern' than any of mine. And you've got great parts availability. The rear end ratio in yours sounds ideal for decent mileage and the mighty 383 will never be overstressed, especially in a 'small' car like a '55. I think the two things that can't be overlooked are the brakes and the cooling system, they must be kept top notch. Best of luck to you, ain't no biggie. Plus your Plymouth's infinitely cooler than any new car out there.
I see no reason that you can't drive the 55 as a daily driver. Good advice so far, just make sure you keep up condition on the tune-up, brakes, and cooling system. Nothing is more aggravating than a car that overheats, get a good fan and shroud or even add a pusher electric on the front for those times when extra is needed. Your gears should be OK, run a slightly taller tire and get a poor man's OD. Or look around for another highway gear center section and swap when convenient. Make those tires radials for daily driving use, they don't track the grooves as bad as bias ply. One thing to consider is to make the weatherstripping as good as you can. Long trips with lots of wind noise can be very tiring. Poor weatherstripping also makes it leak water. You should try to rig up some defrost, even in so-cal it is helpful. Make sure your wipers are good and actually work, for those twelve days of rain you get. I drive my 37 Chevy truck everyday and love it. Sure it's not like a brand new car with quiet and comfort, but I got them beat to hell on style and cool. Plus I just happen to like driving my old cars. Two advantages to an old car is no hassles with the damn smog BS and much lower reg fees than a new car.
My daily using car in wintertimes has been two years now a chrysler neon '97 (dodge neon sold here in europe as chrysler). I bought two weeks ago my next kustom project it's '53 Kaiser and after that I haven't touch my neon, all daily drivings with Kaiser and what a car!!! I'll love it!!! In summertimes my daily driver is '55 DeSoto Diplomat full kustom with early hemi. So: old car with old systems works when fix it once it works, and if something brokes you don't need a flaptop to fix it, screwdrivers and set of wrenches and you are back on the road. And I drive 250 miles per week just to work and back home plus freetime drivings
Allright... got my radiator back. Mechanical fan, no shroud yet (gonna make one shortly). It was 98 degrees today... and had my turbine heater blowing HOT friggin air on the front end (113 @ the grille)... let it idle for 30 minutes. Never went above 214 degrees. Get the rpms up to 2500 under load, and it dropped to 200 real quick... @ 113 degree air temp, i can live with that. OK, not worried about the cooling system anymore. Brakes- no worries there... big block police package diplomat front clip, with metallic pads... every component is new... went on a little trip on the freeway today... 75mph @ 3400rpm... the tires could stand to be a bit taller, though. weatherstripping- well, dosent actually have any yet. Gotta find it. nobody makes a kit, but i think mopars had kinda a universal deal... anyone know a supplier of quality rubber?? David- yup, it's got lap belts in the front... replaced the death belts after having to slide out of it pant-less cause the latch wasnt operating. good thing i dont embarass easily. DeS- Finland? Right on... i've got family all over that country. havent been there yet, though. How's the car scene? I also understand Finland's DeSoto's had some different body panels than the US's... true? I agree with the "old car with old system works when you fix it once" theory... All that's left is to strip and pait... the weatherstripping... some glass... wheels, new tires (radials)... ive go AAA, the common tools, spare fuel pump, fuel filter, belts, spare tire, killer NOS bumper jack (came with the car), all ready to go in. Thanks for the advise so far! I'll let ya know how it goes... wonder if those "emergency phones" on the side of the freeway have internet access???... so i can post a "wanted" ad in the HAMB classifieds for a 60's driver, if need be
[ QUOTE ] CharlieLed- i had a '94 eldo for about 6 months (till it got stolen and stripped)... thing hauled ass... tell the wife that it's safer than a Honda, and get her to keep it... [/ QUOTE ] I should be so lucky as to have to pay for a Honda, she bought a Lincoln LS!
CharlieLed: Lincoln LS? my mom just got a new one... that's not much smaller than the cad... if at all. Quick still, though...
Hey did you take pics or notes of the Volare clip install? I used to have a 55 Plaza and thought about doing that conversion. I'd be interested in seeing the pics or notes if you wouldn't mind sharing. [email protected] Thanks
Shag: the volare clip was put on in the early 80's, by the second owner... ive got a pic of it from the 70's with a straight axle under the front, which is what the volare clip replaced... it was a project from the early 80's up till i bought it a few years ago. Ive got pics of it's current setup, but i'm planning on changing it sometime soon. it has a 3x3 subframe starting 7" forward of the firewall, which the volare k-member is bolted to (right now with the factory bushings). Here's the passenger side:
on the above post, you can see where the clip starts just past the hole in the factory frame, near the left of the image. These pics were taken about 6 months ago, before the brakes/suspension were rebuilt. Probably more like a year ago, before the engine was rebuilt, too... Ive got a bunch of other pics, and the original notes on the conversion. Planning on doing it over, not using the factory bushings at all (too much mush when they are used)... plus it'll drop it another 1 1/4 inch, and still have 4" of down travel, 5" up (limited to 4" with the short shocks on it now). With the torsion bars set to hold the suspension at it's proper ride height, the car sits about 3 1/2" lower than stock... let the adjusters loose, and the thing is only 2" off the ground.... It rides, handles and stops pretty well at normal ride height... very minimal bump-steer (only near full compression), too. It's from a big-block diplomat police car (apparently the torsion bars are a larger diameter). Before painting the car, gonna pull the front sheetmetal off, cut off the clip, and start over... taking pics of the process... probably in a couple weeks...
Thanks. I thought that might be the way it would have to go. The stock frame has too many curves in it. Appreciate the pics. Look forward to the future ones as well.
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